After KC mayor’s march and speech at Plaza, police deploy tear gas Monday night
Hours into Monday night’s protest in Kansas City, shortly after Mayor Quinton Lucas joined a march and addressed a crowd at the J.C. Nichols Memorial Fountain, police deployed tear gas against demonstrators.
Protesters scattered as the gas clouds broke out on the streets for the third night in a row in the city.
The incident occurred shortly after Lucas had joined protesters in a march from Mill Creek Park to 43rd Street and back, and a few hours after meeting with protesters, listening to concerns and having conversations with people about making changes within the police department.
It was the fourth night of protest in Kansas City against police brutality, sparked like others across the country by the death of a black man, George Floyd, who died after a white Minneapolis police officer kneeled on his neck for several minutes.
At the J.C. Nichols Memorial Fountain, the mayor addressed a group of protesters.
“We are just trying to save lives,” Lucas said into a microphone to the crowd back at the fountain, leading into a chant.
“We’re trying to save black lives. Because black lives matter.”
“Black lives matter,” Lucas chanted with the group.
Soon after the mayor left, a busload of additional police, in tactical gear, arrived. Officers deployed tear gas, scattering the protesters at Mill Creek Park.
Police announced that the crowd near the Plaza was an unlawful assembly and officers were going to clear the park.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
This story was originally published June 1, 2020 at 10:17 PM.
